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New research by Manchester’s Global Threads team, published by The Portico Library, traces the library’s foundation in 1802 as an exclusive members’ Library to profits and individuals linked to the city’s underacknowledged history connected to the transatlantic slave trade. Researchers Jeevan Kaur Sanghera and Ella Sinclair have discovered never-before-seen connections between the institution and histories of enslavement, exploitation, and the resistance of enslaved people in the Caribbean, embedding the story of this nineteenth-century institution in contemporary discussions for reparative justice.

The research tells a transatlantic history of the Portico Library – and Manchester – stretching its limits beyond the boundaries of the city, connecting its history to the enslaved people and communities directly impacted by Britain’s transatlantic slave trade and colonial pursuits. By bringing these human experiences to the forefront the research provides crucial context for ongoing reparative justice agendas.

Marking the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade, free physical copies of the research will be made available at a pop-up exhibition of linked books in the Reading Room of the Portico Library.

We’d like to acknowledge the emotional labour that has gone into this research and these case studies are not easy to read. Please be aware of this and be mindful of holding the space for yourself and others when reading them. We have pulled together some supporting organisations and a grounding exercise is available.

All are welcome.